The 2023 Budapest Open was the scene of the most incredible sequence in recent tennis memory involving WTA veteran Shuai Zhang.
The Chinese player hasn't had a very good year so far dealing with private problems which have been tied to motivation and loosely described as a bout of depression. She's a seasoned pro with a lot of experience both in singles and doubles however her play this year was far below her usual level.
Zhang talked about some of the mental health issues she's been dealing with lately which is why the tennis community was outraged after witnessing what happened in Budapest on Tuesday, July 18th. Zhang was playing native player Kiara Toth in the first round of the draw with the score being 5-5 in the first set and 15-15 in the game.
Zhang played a forehand that looked good, however, the umpire ruled it wide after checking the mark. She immediately protested when she got closer to the net because she was sure that the mark on the line was the one she just played.
The umpire didn't seem to agree even though initially she ruled it good. It was only after checking did she ruled it wide.
Eventually, Zhang was mocked by the crowd while protesting as her opponent was seen amused by the whole thing giggling while watching on. After playing the point, Toth went to erase the mark despite Zhang pleading that she doesn't want it deleted to discuss it with the supervisor, which enraged the Chinese player even further.
The whole ordeal left a mark on Zhang who experienced a panic attack in the ensuing changeover ultimately retiring from the match while leaving the court in tears. Toth was then spotted celebrating 'her win' which enraged many players who shared their anger on social media.
Absolutely disgusting behavior. Shuai is a better person than a lot of us for shaking the ref and that girls hand. But then again it’s Shuai we are talking about , ofc she did.
zero respect for this Toth girl. ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so so so mad. I feel so bad for Shuai :(
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